Like this:

Pan steam-sautéed kale (put bit of water in bottom of sauté pan, add kale, cover. Cook a few minutes until bright green, then remove lid and let water evaporate.)

Spaghetti-style spaghetti squash:

Cut squash in half, remove seeds. Place cut side up on baking pan in 375˚F oven until a paring knife pokes squash easily (this was a big squash; it took about an hour). Let cook for a few minutes. Scrape with fork to remove strands of squash from skin. Because this was such a huge squash, I used half and froze the other. I used about 300g of strands for this recipe.

The forum that is my primary social outlet is having a food swap. There are a few of us who signed up, filled out a questionnaire about preferences (including whether we would be willing to eat homemade food from a virtual stranger), allergies, etc. and were matched up with a name. The responses from the name I was assigned are funny and reminded me of this recipe.

Toasted seeds and nuts

I have made this before. But like many recipes, I tried it when I first got the cookbook. Then when the novelty of the book wore off, I put it on the shelf and forgot about it.

I really need to go through this book and make some of these things.

Usually when I make this, I do a half batch. So that’s what I’m including below. Depending on how you cut them, you can get 30-50 pieces from the half batch. They are small, but then you can have more than one piece, or can try something else off the dessert tray. They have a nutty flavor that’s only lightly sweet, and are a great little tidbit to include on a cheese tray. Making smaller batches means you can make a couple of variations, trying different nuts and seasonings, without ending up with candy for weeks.

Two kinds

Pistachios and fruit

Almonds and pepitas

If you live near a store with a good bulk foods department, check it out for some of the ingredients. They can be pricey at standard mega-marts. Middle Eastern groceries are a good source for inexpensive sesame seeds, too.

A word of warning: this stuff gets HOT. The oils in the nuts and seeds come out during toasting and can burn if you’re not careful pouring them into the mixing bowl. And molten honey not only burns, it sticks.